Election Law Principles
21 september 2018
The monograph by Yuriy Kliuchkovskiy is focused on the research of the election law principles system, their essence and role for the sphere of election law. Principles of election law are addressed within the context of general idea of the principles of law, their role as higher imperative legal demands being the consistent elements of this principle. The author provides systematization to the principles of law seriously affecting the essence of elections legal regulation. The author differentiates the group of constitutional principles of representative democracy, principles of law in a specific sphere and institutional principles of election law.
The principles mentioned above are addressed in connection with international election standards. The monograph outlines a three-level system of international election standards – the declaration of the name-principle as binding international act, address to the general content of such principle recommended illustration of the “appropriate practice” of principle-standard application in national legal systems.
Election law principles are addressed within the comparative approach. The provisions of national election law are addressed in comparison to the relevant provisions of national election law of Poland and Russian Federation, as well as of some other European states in certain cases, and also includes references to the approaches adopted by the Venice Commission, OSCE and European Court of Human Rights practice.
The research covers the essence and ways of implementation of the principles of general and equal election rights, free, sincere and real elections. The research reflects that the principles of direct and periodical elections should be regarded as constitutional principles of representative democracy and are not specific election law principles.
The monograph covers also the system of subjective election laws, discovers their content in the context of general and equal election law principles. It also specifically covers certain election law system elements – the institutes voting, election process, and elections’ administration bodies. The research specifies the place these institutions undertake in the system of election law principles, as well as their legal effect. The monograph also formulates its institutional principles.
The final chapter addresses the issue of domestic election legislation codification as the method of the system of election law principles and their application, as well as of election legislation application stability. The monograph also proposes the Election Code of Ukraine structure.
The publication is aimed at legal scholars, law school instructors, doctoral students and other law students, election specialists and anyone else interested in the election law and elections administration issues.